April 1, 2016

Valentor // Fritcher Duo is spiritual sonic vibrations from Stevenson Valentor (drums) and Brad Fritcher (trumpet). For their performance at Transistor, Valentor and Fritcher played for the first time as a duo and performed a set of improvised music using a large arsenal of sounds from the trumpet, percussive instruments and beyond.

The Malena Quartet plays a mixture of original compositions by bandleader María Elena, as well as arrangements of jazz standards. Though her songs read like a bouquet of different flowers, the common thread between all originals are lush harmonies, flowing melodies and bubbling underscoring of drums and bass. This group is influenced by established masters of their craft from Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Henderson, Rodney Whitaker and Miguel Zenón to Thundercat, Kneebody, and Taylor McFerrin.

For this Transistor show, the Malena Quartet performed a collection of songs from their debut album Behind the Eyes. This album, featuring jazz-based music, presents a unique blending of various Latin styles, rock and other grooves through an introspective yet assertively sure-footed lens.